Watercolor Pencil Media Study
- Caroline Harding
- Nov 16, 2023
- 11 min read
What are Watercolor pencils?
When examing the functionality of watercolor pencils, it is important to note the similarities to their sister material, colored pencils. Colored Pencils are pencils with a core of colored pigment and a protective casing usually made of wood. The color pigment in the pencil is typically mixed with binding agents like wax or oil. This is where watercolor pencils deviate from colored pencils because watercolored pencils use a water-soluble binder which allows the pigment to be dissolved using water (Hafeli, 2015, p. 46-47, 51-52).
Brief History of Watercolor Pencils:
The standard color pencil has its roots in the development of crayons, just as the watercolor pencil has its origins in the traditional color pencil. The former was first manufactured in 1834 by a German company called Staedtler and was principally used for marking and checking. The first colored pencils intended for use in creating art were made by Faber-Castell in 1924, while the first watercolor pencil didn’t appear until the 1940's and it is unclear who first invented them.
How are they Made?
While this video focuses on colored pencils, it also mentioned watercolored pencils, and most of the information pertaining to colored pencils also applies to watercolored pencils.
What Different Types of Watercolor Pencils Exist?
There are a wide variety of different brands and styles of watercolor pencils. One area that exemplifies this diversity is the vast range of different colors offered by brands such as Faber-Castell or Derwent. Additionally, while the primary format this material adopts is the standard pencil-sized wood-coated pigment, there are additional options for either woodless options (Arteza Woodless Watercolor Pencils) or larger-sized options (STABILO - Woody 3 in 1 Multi-Media Watercolour Pencils). Furthermore, even different types of watercolor pencils can create different effects, such as metallic watercolor (Derwent Metallic Water Soluble Pencils).
What are known brands?
Some of the most well-known brands include; Faber Castell, Caran D'Ache, General's, Prismacolor, Staedtler, Koh-I-Noor, Castle Art Supplies, Arteza, Stabilo, Lyra, Rembrant, Bruynzeel, and Cretacolor, to name a few.
Another artist, Sandy Allnock, widely known for her online tutorials, tested nine different watercolor brands in a video. I have been watching her content for a while, and I have found her advice regarding Copic markers very helpful so I wanted to include this video as an additional source regarding different brands of watercolor pencils (many of which I was unable to test out myself) and their strengths and weaknesses.
What Brands / Types I am Testing
-Crayola
-Watercolor Pencils 12 pack - $5.63 (Plaza Artist Material*)
-Faber-Castell
-Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils 12 pack - $24.50 (Plaza Artist Material*)
- Grip Watercolor EcoPencils 12 pack - $8.00 (Plaza Artist Material*)
-Caran D'Ache
-Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Water-Soluble Colored Pencils 12 pack - $34.80 (Plaza Artist Material*)
-General's
-Kimberly Watercolor Pencils 24 pack - $17.92 (Dick Blick Art Materials)
* When shopping at Plaza Artist Material, I got a member discount, and used a 25% off art supplies coupon.
Other materials needed:
In order to fully explore this material, it is necessary to have a cup or container of water and some type of brush.
Materials:
- Water cup: you can use any plastic container or cup for this. One cheap and eco-friendly recommendation is to use recycled yogurt cups.
- Brushes: There are a wide variety of different types of brushes you can get to use with watercolor pencils. I would recommend specifically getting watercolor brushes because they are optimized to work well with the fluidity and delicacy of watercolor paints. However, even in this category are lots of different options:
-Synthetic Brushes ranging from $3.59 - $4.75 (https://www.dickblick.com/products/simply-simmons-synthetic-brushes/)
-Natural Brushes ranging from $6.00 - $142.97 (https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-masterstroke-finest-red-sable-brushes/)
-Water brushes ranging from $4.40 - $16.91
Crayola Watercolor Pencils
Facts:
- Student grade
- Felt and acted like Crayola colored pencils, which gave them some consistency
PROS:
- Great quality
- Decently blendable, and the primary colors can make a good selection of other colors
- Good constant coverage
- Eco-Friendly
- Easily dissolved with water
- Wide range in values per color
- Layerable
- Very cheap
CONS:
- Colors are not as bright or vivid
- Can be smudged
- Limited range of colors
- Does not include other material necessary such as brushes
- Watercolor effect looks flat
Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils
Albrecht Dürer vs. Grip EcoPencils
Albrecht Dürer
Facts:
- Artists grade
- While most watercolor pencils hold their hue for 25 years, the colors in this set can maintain their lightfastness for 100+ years.
PROS:
-Excellent quality
- Very blendable, and the primary colors alone can create a wide range of beautiful secondary hues
- Smooth constant coverage
- Easily dissolved with water
- Wide range in values per color
- Minimal pigment is needed to achieve a light wash
- Excellent lightfastness
- Layerable
- Intense color / vibrant pigment (allows for them to last longer)
- Could easily stand on its own as a colored pencil
CONS:
- While affordable, they are not cheap
- Can be smudged
- Does not include other material necessary such as brushes
Grip EcoPencils
Facts:
- Student grade
- Grip Watercolor Pencils feature a triangular shape and grip dots to give better control for the artist
PROS:
- Great quality
- Very blendable, and the primary colors alone can create a wide range of hues
- Smooth constant coverage
- Easily dissolved with water
- Wide range of colors
- Wide range in values per color
- Bold color
- Very affordable and significantly cheaper than Albrecht Dürer
- Kit contains a brush (not of the highest quality)
CONS:
- Pigment is less concentrated, which creates a lesser intensity of color than Albrecht Dürer
- Harder to use as a colored pencil on its own
- Colors chosen for the box are less valuable than Albrecht Dürer (no white)
- Can be smudged
Caran D'Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Water-Soluble Colored Pencils
Facts:
- Artist grade
- Made in Switzerland
PROS:
- Wide range of color (120)
- Excellent quality
- Very blendable, and the primary colors alone can create a wide range of secondary hues
- Smooth constant coverage
- Easily dissolved with water
- Wide range in values per color
- Minimal pigment is needed to achieve a light wash
- Layerable
- Bold pigments
- Excellent lightfastness
- Could stand on its own as a colored pencil
CONS:
- On the more expensive side
- Can be smudged
- Does not include other material necessary such as brushes
- Pigments are as vibrant as other brands
General's Kimberly Watercolor Pencils
Facts:
- Student / artist quality
- General’s Kimberly Watercolor Pencils have been around for nearly 100 years
PROS:
- Great quality
- Decently blendable, and the primary colors can make a good selection of other colors
- Good constant coverage
- Eco-Friendly
- Easily dissolved with water
- Wide range in values per color
- Layerable
- Very cheap
CONS:
- A dry application feel
- Colors are not as bright or vivid
- Can be smudged
- Limited range of colors (35 different colors)
- Does not include other material necessary such as brushes
Techniques:
Traditional Rendering Dry: With Faber-Castell Grip EcoPencils
Notes:
- Oftentimes, watercolor pencils are a bit more muted than traditional colored pencils, which means that many brands might not be suitable to replace other types of wax-based colored pencils.
- The pencils are able to be easily be controlled and can create fine lines and marks.
- Certain brands work better as stand-alone colored pencils than others, which should be considered if one plans to use them as a color pencil replacement.
Transforming Colored Pencils into Watercolor: Using Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer
Steps:
1: Dry pencil on dry paper (baseline)
2: Dry pencil on dry paper, then wet with a brush
3: Dry pencil on wet paper
4: Wet pencil on dry paper
5: Wet pencil on wet paper
(These techniques are replicated on two colors being blended together)
Spray Bottle: Marks are put down on paper and then sprayed with a water mister
Sandpaper: Sandpaper (the more course, the better) is taken and rubbed on the lead pigment until the dust falls on the paper. The left side is the dust falling on wet paper, and the right side is it falling on dry paper and then being wiped with a wet brush.
Transfering Pencil Pigment to a Wet Brush: The pencil's tip is wet and rubbed by a wet brush that then picks up the pigment and can work as a normal watercolor brush.
Paper Pallet: The pencils are used to make heavily pigmented circles that are then used as watercolor pallets.
Notes:
- Number 2 does a good job of creating a more consistent wash and tonality to the paper (can be used as base layers or regular watercolor).
- Number 3 makes the pencil feel smoother and more buttery, but there is less value control.
- For number 4, you either need to consistently wet the pencil or let it sit for a little while in the water to fully absorb it into the pigment (hard to blend).
- Number 5 creates exciting effects and can do essentially what number 4 does without the need to redip the pencil every stroke.
- Spray bottle is hard to control what the pigment does, so it would work better for large areas or can be contained by putting blockers ashouldn’tt shouldn't get sprayed.
- Sandpaper creates the opposite effect of some of the techniques used in watercolor; it can be suitable for creating bark, freckles, or texture.
-Transfering pencil pigment to a wet brush and paper pallets work essentially like usual watercolors.
Other Blending Tools: Using Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer
Notes:
- Alcohol pad works well for creating a smooth blending techniuiques but it doesn't make a good watercolor effect. Also, alcohol dosn’t mix with water evenly, so don't mix them at the same time if you want a uniform texture.
- Colorless blending paper can be used for small detail areas that need control.
- The Ble,doesn’ttump doesn't work well and creates a lot of smudging.
Basic Watercolor Techniques:
Steps:
Masking Fluid and Wax Resist: Masking fluid is a product that goes on wet, dries, and creates a barrier that watercolor can not go. This is similar to using a white wax crayon to create a similar resist technique. The difference is that you can take the masking fluid off after you are done, whereas the wax of the crayon will not come off.
Dry Brush: This is when the pigment is put down using the brush on a dry surface.
Flat Wash and Gradient Wash: A flat application of color is applied slowly in rows to create a consistent flat color, or it can be used to transition slowly into other colors.
Spattering: A bush that is loaded with water and pigment is then flicked off or tapped on to create lots of little splatters and water drops.
Salt: Salt is placed on freshly applied watercolor and left to sit while it dries.
Sgraffito or Scratch Watercolor: Lines are scratched into the paper, and when watercolor is placed on the surface, it absorbs darker in the scored lines because of the broken surface of the paper.
Lifting up Watercolor: When the watercolor is wet, you can put down your brush or a towel on to absorb the water and create lighter areas. You can also go back in after it is dry and pull up more color by wetting the pigment and re-activating it.
Alcohol Drips: When the watercolor is wet, apply drops of alcohol to the paper, and it will create lighter sections as the color retreats from the alcohol.
Wet on Wet: Apply water to the paper and then apply wet pigment to that section. It will spread out quickly.
Wet on Dry: Apply sections of color to the paper, let it dry and then apply color over top of it. The color below will shine through, but it will keep its boarder.
Water Drops: Similar to the Alcohol technique, water is dropped onto the wet watercolor to create lighter areas.
Plastic Wrap: When the watercolor is still wet, place plastic wrap all bunched up onto the surface and let it dry to create interesting textures.
Rice: After creating a wet block of color, place rice onto the paper so that it can absorb the color and create rice shaped patterns on the paper.
Notes:
- Traditional watercolor techniques can be used on watercolor pencils because they are made out of similar materials. However, only viewing the material as a storage system of watercolor pigment reduces the tools abilities and strengths.
- It can be very rewarding to do back in after creating a watercolor base layer and adding marks from the pencil to create details and texture.
Other Materials and Watercolor Pencils
I did not have time or the materials necessary to explore how watercolor pencils can function with other materials, so I found a video that explores some of the different materials that can be explored alongside watercolor pencils. Some of the mediums that would work particularly well with watercolored pencils include, watercolors, colored pencils, ink, acrylic paint, and gouche.
Example of mixed Watercolor Pencils and Media Artwork: By Thaneeya McArdle
Materials: watercolor paper, pencils, ball-point pen, watercolors, watercolor pencils, paintbrushes, masking fluid, and colored pencils.
Different Papers
Cold Press:
Notes:
- Rough, bumpy texture (this creates a lot of texture when drawing on dry and when using water, it can pool in the small bumps also creating texture).
- Heavy/thick paper allows the paper to absorb the water without changing its shape.
- This is my preferred paper for watercolor when on its own because of its texture and ability to not buckle with water.
Hot Press:
Notes:
- Smooth flat surface (this allows for smooth lines with little to no created texture).
- Heavy/thick paper allows the paper to absorb the water without changing its shape.
- This is my preferred paper for watercolor when using other media, such as inks, because of its smooth surface and ability to not buckle with water.
Multimedia / Mixed Media:
Notes:
- Slightly rough and bumpy texture (in between cold press and hot press)
- It is not as thick of a paper; it can hold watercolor, but lots of water will distort the paper.
- A good option when using watercolor with other materials, but it is not a good option for heavy watercolors.
Sketchbook Paper:
Notes:
- It can work well when using the medium as colored pencils; however, it can not hold water and severely buckles when wet.
Black Multimedia Paper:
Notes:
- Paper holds as well as mixed media paper.
- It is more challenging for darker colors to show up, but white is fully visible.
- Because of watercolors nature, the white-colored pencil only works well on colored paper and should not be used to lighten colors on white paper (water should be used instead).
Artists Example: Kristy Ann Kutch
Kristy Ann Kutch is an artist who works with both colored pencils and watercolor pencils. She graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor's and masters in education. She has taught hundreds of art workshops, created multiple YouTube videos and instructional DVDs, and written multiple books focused on technique, including, The New Colored Pencil, Colored Pencil Landscapes, and Colored Pencil Exploration. Her work has been featured in International Artist’s Magazine and Pratique des Arts. In an interview from 2014, she states that “Vivid, striking colors appeal to me - there is nothing subtle there. When I was little my red crayon was always the first one to be worn down to a nub” (Artists Network, 2014). Reference: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/colored-pencil-art-thats-beautiful-sometimes-bit-bizarre/
Example Work:
Variegated Hydrangea (colored pencil) by Kristy Ann Kutch
Simply Juicy (colored pencil) by Kristy Ann Kutch
Video Tutorial with the Artist:
Safety Measures while Using Watercolor Pencils:
Most Brands of watercolor pencils are non-toxic, contain the AP seal, and are safe to use with children. The pencils are made with small amounts of water-soluble pigment and will typically not cause any serious harm if ingested or absorbed through skin contact. (South Texas College, n.d.). However, something to be aware of is that the pencils may have sharp pointed tips that could be considered hazardous if used inappropriately, such as for stabbing, so young childdon’thould be supervised when using sharp pencils.
South Texas College. (n.d). Safety rules for painting & drawing studios. Retrieved from https://www.southtexascollege.edu/academics/visual-arts/safety/painting.html
Possible Applications for Different Ages of Students:
Watercolor multi-media the most suitable for older elementary students, middle schoolers, and high schoolers. I would idealy like to introduce this medium while students are starting to get familiarized with watercolors. While this medium is not super messy, I would avoid having really young children play with this tool because I don't think they will have the understanding to explore this material properly, and watercolor pans or colored pencils alone would be an ideal substitute. I would probably introduce this tool as alongside exploring watercolors as an additional asset or possibly while exploring multi-media works. This material is easy to use but does take some guidance to learn properly. I would most likely look into getting Faber-Castell eco grip for older elementary students because of its ability to be held more easily and its ability to make good marks. For middle schoolers and high schoolers, I would look into brands like Generals or Faber-Castell (both types).
Comfort level going forward:
Having completed this study, I feel exponentially more confident in my skills and knowledge of this material. I had never used watercolor pencils before, and I am actually starting to get a deeper understanding of the material. I can already see how some of the things I was studying could be fun things to explore with students. However, I can always use more practice, and I would definitely need to do more review work before creating anything. I feel comfortable navigating material and confident that this exploration has helped me better understand watercolor pencils’ strengths, limitations, and possibilities. The only thing I would like to do is continue testing out how this media can be used in conjunction with other materials.
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